The chronology of Nintendo v. Pocketpair (Pokémon v. Palworld) shows that Palworld’s early-access version (January 2024) and Palworld 1.0 (July 2026) both launched on an undisputedly non-infringing basis.

Nintendo’s attempts to obtain anti-Palworld patents are not working out well at this stage. They still have procedural options, but there’s no winning strategy at least for the time being.

Nintendo and Pocketpair appear to have completed their written pleadings and submissions of evidence. The Tokyo District Court will hear the case on October 1.

Earlier this year, Nintendo filed another Pokemón-related Japanese patent application, for which it requested an expedited examination. The patent examiner’s first feedback is negative.

The annual report does not specify what litigation(s) is/are responsible for most of that amount. A recent patent settlement could account for a large chunk of it.

Nintendo can now try to convince the examiner that the patent should be upheld. The decision is based on earlier patent applications as opposed to any real-world game.